Subcool, legendary breeder, has died

After several years of battling a rare disease, the renowned breeder Subcool passed away on Friday, January 31, 2020. He suffered from alpha-1 antitrypsin (AAT) deficiency, a genetic mutation that leads to emphysema and liver disease.

Originally from Oregon, he had moved to California in 2013 because the climate there suited him better. Subcool was best known for creating strains such as the Jack the Ripper, a THCV-rich strain, the Vortex, the’Agent Orange or the Qleaner. He sold them through his seed banks TGA Genetics (The Green Avengers), which he founded in 2001 with his wife, and Subcool Seeds.

He has won numerous awards High Times, both for its variety and for its career, the High Times Seed Bank Hall of Fame in 2009 and the Lester Grinspoon Lifetime Achievement Award.

Regarding how he developed his varieties, Subcool explained in 2016:

«My main goal at the beginning was to create a line of high-yield hybrid cannabis seeds with fruity aromas. The first one we perfected was the lemon [Editor's note: with the Jacks Cleaner]. Then came grape, cherry, and orange. After that, we worked on chocolate flavors. »I was so excited about these cultivars that I gave them to other professional growers to see what they thought. People told me they liked these varieties—not just the taste and aroma, but also their effects.”

In October 2017, the violent California wildfires destroyed 8,500 homes and killed more than 60 people. Subcool survived but lost everything: four million seeds and all the male and female mother plants he had preserved over the years. He separated from his wife, MzJill, and started over from scratch on his own.

It took him two years to rebuild his cannabis genetics library, either buying back his own seeds or collecting cuttings from some of his friends. To recreate his Strawberry Cough, he went to Hollywood and worked with Kyle Kushman. Their collaboration was dubbed the Dank Brothers.

He's going up The Dank In early 2019, it launched its new seed bank, offering 45 varieties.

Subcool has written several books, including Dank: The Quest for the Very Best Marijuana (and Version 2), and hosted the show The Weed Nerd on his YouTube channel.